Every time I go fly fishing, a plastic Gulp bait will outfish my best feather flies every time! 10 to 1! Maybe 20 to 1! I have a top shelf fly rod, I'm a good fly caster, I buy the best flies available, and I tie a bunch also!

"It's sad, so sad, why can't we talk it over?"
"sorry seems to be the only word"

With out a doubt Gulp is an awesome bait, and just that a bait for bait fisherman . Every spring I make a Crappie trip to a special lake with one of my old friends to fill our freezers with tasty Crappie fillets . My friend is strictly a spinning guy and he uses Gulps religiously to tip his jigs.
We always have a little friendly competition to see who catches the most at the end of the trip. A few years he outfished my flys with his Gulp and jig combination and I had to eat crow and clean fish. I could have surrendered and used the Gulp and spinning gear to beat him but that's not me!
So what I did was come up with a fly that outfished the Gulp !
Nothing fancy just a small hook with Pearl Flashabou tied on short streamer style with a wrap at the back of the hook to flair the Flashabou and then I Palmer a small white hackle feather at the head for a little buoyancy .
Put it to you this way with this fly by the time his jig/Gulp and bobber combo goes under I'm already casting to the next fish ! And I haven't lost since! There are other flys that have been equally as successful but when the Gulp is hot I go with the Flashabou fly!
I got the idea from SW flys f I use when Sabiku rigs are called for and they work there as well. Try a bit of Pearl Flashabou and you may surprise yourself!!

__________________
"I was born to fish" Lee Wulff
"There's more B.S. in fly fishing then there is in a Kansas feedlot." Lefty Kreh
" It ain't over till it's over." Yogi Berra
"Your not old,you've simply acquired a patina." Swirlchaser

Oh for heavens sake! Use what works! I use anything for panfish. An ultralight spinning rod with hand tied 1/16th ounce jigs (wooly buggers with a lead head jig). Clousers and my wooly clousers, which is a clouser with a marabou tail, flashabou as a wing and a hackle collar with lead eyes, tied in either green and white or brown, and mini gulps on a small hook I fling with my six weight. Sometimes, I drag the flies and jigs in the Gulp juice if its handy. Do I care? Not even a little bit. Do the fish? No. Do I care about anyone's opinion but theirs? Hell no!
I mean my lovingly tied flies and jigs look like something a spastic five year old came up with in art class, and that's on a good day, but they catch fish, and that's all I care about.
Folks, the game is about convincing a fish to bite an artificial bait. Yeah, its nice if you tied it yourself, but forget that.
Me, I'm just a redneck fly fisherman, who is not above putting a bit of shrimp on a clouser when the sea trout are close mouthed. To me the tug is the drug and while in a perfect world I'd like to catch all my fish on flies and jigs I tied myself using organically raised animal parts harvested by unionized Guatemalan virgins.......At the end of the day I just want to catch a damned fish on a fly rod or ultra light and I'll do what I have to to make that happen. So consider me an infidel, most folks do. But I say go out, use whatever makes you happy and catch some fish. I mean pan fish are supposed to be about having fun and filling a frying pan. no need to get serious about them.

To answer your question - The best way to catch a fish on a fly is to use a fly when you fish.

You need to invest what ever time it requires to learn the skills and develop the confidence in any method you would like to use to catch fish. As you practice and improve your skills, your catch rate goes up.

To be honest, if I started to fish Gulp, using the same techniques I use to fish my favorite flies, I'm sure my catch rate would plummet. I would have to figure out what I needed to do to make Gulp work, and then practice the skills I needed to fish Gulp in an effective manner. Those skills would include where to fish, presentation, strike detection and hook set.

So as with any other skill, you need to invest the time. The easiest way to do that is to leave the Gulp at home for the next few trips, and fish with your fly, for better or worst, until you gain confidence in being able to effectively fish whatever method you'd like to use.

Every time I go hunting, a Remington 798 will outshoot my best muzzle loader every time! 10 to 1! Maybe 20 to 1! I have a top shelf flintlock, I'm a good target shooter, I buy the best buckshot available, and I self-load a bunch also!

If you fly fish because you expect to catch more than the scented, natural, manufactured bait methods, you're misguided. In taking on the long rod you have accepted some inherent handicaps, but accepted them willingly for some unquantifiable reason; the challenge, the artistry, the history, whatever.

Yes, in some circumstances you might outfish the bait-slingers and spin gear guys, but it doesn't happen often and that's not the point of the thing.

I just wish I knew what the point was. Perhaps it would explain my obsession. :-)

At the end of the day I just want to catch a damned fish on a fly rod or ultra light and I'll do what I have to to make that happen. So consider me an infidel, most folks do. But I say go out, use whatever makes you happy and catch some fish. I mean pan fish are supposed to be about having fun and filling a frying pan. no need to get serious about them.

To be honest, if I started to fish Gulp, using the same techniques I use to fish my favorite flies, I'm sure my catch rate would plummet. I would have to figure out what I needed to do to make Gulp work,

pszy,

That's the problem? You really don't have to do anything with the Gulp. You just nose hook a tiny "fish fry" on a size 14 thin wire scud hook ...... and any bluegill, crappie, perch, or bass will hit it as soon as he sees it! No weight, just a slow drop. If deep, I take out my UL spin with a 1/64 oz jig head and the same Gulp fish fry.

When I get tired of catchin' on every single cast, I put a feather fly on and have to "work" the fly several times to get the smallest and most stupid fish to bite it! It's rewarding (in a way) but I realize I would have caught that fish, and many many more if I still had the Gulp on?

I have a high IQ, and I can realize the difference ...... I'm also somewhat obsessed with fly fishing, I tie some killer flies, and this is what makes it difficult for me to leave the Gulp home!

All fishing is good, and I go fishing a awful lot! Just venting a bit!

Maybe it is just me but if I am fishing for crappie it is generally about catching fish. They don't fight worth a turd and I am wanting to fill my limit with as much of that tasty white meat that I can. So, I fish with what the crappie are biting on. Period.

If I am wanting some sporting panfish action, I can catch me some goggle-eye or bluegill on flies and have a field day. Plus on the right gear they will give a crazy wild tussle.